Related Content

Some living in Burlington’s New North End said brand new streetlights, while energy-efficient, are a nuisance.

The brilliant lights are so bright residents said they are shining into their homes.

“They told me that this one uses less power, which I’m appreciative of, but I'm not appreciative of how bright it is,” said Deb Ellis.

Ellis lives right in front of one of the new LED fixtures. It’s so bright it shines through the curtains in her living room.

“For me frankly it's also the color of the light, and the color is just this really brilliant white, white light,” she said.

Burlington’s older streetlights, which housed mercury vapor bulbs are being phased out. In fact, the Burlington Electric Department, the agency that oversees the city’s streetlights, said the bulbs are no longer in stock.

“They were really terrible and twice as bright as they are now,” said Dave Pope.

Pope lives on Leonard Street, which got the new lights in November. Pope said he complained to BED about the brightness. To remedy the situation, he said BED turned off one of two rows of LED lights inside the new fixtures.

But they’re still too bright, Pope said.

“They said they did a lot of research and that this was the light that they chose and they weren't going to do anything more after the adjustments that they made,” he said.

BED said the new lights require less maintenance than their predecessors and are more energy-efficient.

A spokeswoman also said engineers have adjusted fixtures to make sure they are pointed downward.

“Some adjustments were made to the mounting to ensure that they were properly installed and pointing directly downward,” she said in an email. “Some fixtures were misaligned. That was corrected and the light was redirected downward to light the sidewalk and the roadway.”

While opponents of the bright lights have spoken out, BED said there are those who are happy with the replacements.

“We have heard from people on that street who are supportive of the new lights, as well as the opponents,” the spokeswoman said.